FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jessica D ’ Amato
Date: March 18, 2024
Phone: 212-696-8346 Email: Jessica.Damato@akc.org
AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB ANNOUNCES THE RECIPIENTS OF 2023 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
New York, NY - The American Kennel Club (AKC ® ), the world’s largest purebred dog registry and leading advocate for dogs is proud to announce the winners of the 2023 AKC ® Lifetime Achievement Awards: Michael Canalizo (Conformation), Curt Curtis (Companion Events) and Laurie Soutar (Performance). The Awards, created by AKC President and CEO Dennis Sprung in 1999, are presented in recognition of outstanding participation and achievement within the dog sport. The finalists and winners are nominated by AKC member clubs and have impacted the sport on a national level through club involvement, judging, exhibiting, breeding and teaching.
CONFORMATION
Michael Canalizo has spent many years in the Dog Show World as a Breeder/Owner, Professional Handler, turned Judge. His first exposure to his primary breed: the Afghan Hound came in 1961 as a member of “the typical Hobby Breeder family” with their purchase of “Babu Bamn of Grandeur”. He showed his family’s home -bred dogs through five generations of their own small breeding program. His relationship with the Afghans of Grandeur spans over 60 years. He has owned, shown, and lived with many other breeds, among them: Salukis, Dachshunds, German Shepherd Dogs, Whippets, Border Collies, Parson and Russell Terriers. He was the Breeder/Owner/Handler of the Top Winning Hound of All Time (Ch. Triumph of Grandeur) with 87 BIS wins until a daughter of his dog (Int. Ch. Tryst of
Grandeur) broke that record with 161 BIS. He has won 2 Top Owner Handler Awards and 6 Quaker Oats Awards. Collectively he piloted over 100 Afghan Hounds to their Championships recording 300 All-Breed Best in Shows and nearly 1,000 Hound Group awards in the breed, including Top Dog of the year in 1995.
He is currently approved to judge BIS, All Sporting, Hound, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding breeds plus breeds in the Working group. He has officiated at events in 38 countries to date.
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